Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jul 08, 2025

Let my people go! Vanterpool pleads for BVI’s ‘freedom’

Let my people go! Vanterpool pleads for BVI’s ‘freedom’

Fourth District Representative Mark Vanterpool has decried the Virgin Islands’ dependent status as an overseas territory of the United Kingdom (UK).
“I want to say to United Kingdom – like the Lord sent Moses to speak to Pharaoh – I want to say to the United Kingdom, let my people go,” Vanterpool stated while speaking in teh House of Assembly this week.

Vanterpool who previously called for a ‘Brexit’ from the UK, railed against the coloniser’s hold on the territory while denouncing that practice as being from a bygone era.

“I want to say to the United Kingdom that the time has come when colonialism must stop. It must be ended in the Caribbean. It must be ended all over the world,” he expressed.

Psychological whipping

And while acknowledging that BVI leaders have made mistakes in the past, Vanterpool maintained that this was no reason for the BVI to be kept as a territory, particularly since the BVI has no control of the UK’s affairs.

“We still have to be told what to do,” Vanterpool argued. “I am not asking our people to beg to let us go. I’m asking the United Kingdom to wake up with your own conscience and see that you may make mistakes as you have been doing. We may make mistakes as we have been doing. But it doesn’t mean that you (UK) have to tell us what to do, because we can’t tell you what to do.”

Drawing on imagery from the era of the Atlantic slave trade, Vanterpool insisted the BVI was being whipped psychologically.

“We are not people who can’t think for ourselves. You know, that was the hallmark of slavery. The people had to do what the master said, they couldn’t think for themselves and if they didn’t do it, they were beaten and trodden. We don’t see the whips right now [in plain sight], but the whips are there,” he argued.

I want my own UK COI

Vanterpool dismissed the recent Commission of Inquiry (COI) and its damning report which found glaring irregularities in the governance of the territory and which ultimately recommended a partial and temporary suspension of the BVI’s constitution.

He suggested that there should be a change in mindset of the territory’s leaders, whom he argued should see the territory’s potential to forge its own destiny since the BVI has been managing its own affairs for a number of years.

“They (the COI recommendations) were good things to come and highlight to us. But I want to go to the United Kingdom and have my own COI up there. I [will] be the [Gary] Hickinbottom,” Vanterpool said in an apparent reference to the UK-appointed COI Commissioner. 

Vanterpool contended that a COI was also needed on the UK’s Prime Ministers, but said persons were too afraid to talk about this.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×